//------------------------------// // Chapter 7: My Little Spike // Story: The Wackiness of Unofficial Life // by edward18 //------------------------------// Chapter 7: My Little Spike The dragon stood in the center of Ponyville. Well...what should have been Ponyville. Instead of the normally peaceful civilization of ponies was erected the capital of chaos once more, Discord's influence spreading throughout all of Equestria from it. Spike could just stare and watch. Cheerilee ran through the scene with foam gushing from her mouth while Bon-Bon began eating the sides of the television screen. Fountains of syrup poured out from what normally produced water for the ponies to quench their thirst. Candy Canes shot out of lightbulbs. Clouds swirled about uncontrollably. It was complete and utter chaos. "You like it I take it," Discord rubbed his fist across his chest in satisfaction. Spike didn't respond. He just continued to stare. The world he'd known was gone. What was in its place was the very embodiment of Pinkie Pie's mind it seemed. Spike could feel shiver's crawling across his body from the thoughts of what all life would be like in the type of environment that the twin Princesses had saved Equestria from so long ago. "I know it's hard to break away from, but come on!" Discord slithered into view right in front of Spike causing him to jump, "welcome to Equestria! I'm your lord and master Discord. And you my boy play a very important role!" Spike lifted a brow to the slender being. A smile was constant on Discord's hung face. "You are the one destined now to lead to my downfall with that magnificent story you made!" he cackled. The baby dragon flailed his arms in annoyance and the rub he gave his head. "So congratulations! It's all in your hands now oh brave dragon," Discord continued standing up to take in more of a view of the surroundings, "Find some way to rid the world of me and things go back to your boring old lifestyle. Fail and...well you'll make me happy at least. Now go on you little scamp. I got chaos to wreak." And with a flash of light the warped abomination was gone. Spike had to shake his head to get grounded back in reality. He couldn't just gawk at what was going on all day! He had to get home! Surely Twilight would have some plan thought up! Ignoring the tap-dancing Doctor Hooves he ran towards where he thought home would be. --- "TWILIGHT!" Spike called being sure to lock the door behind him. As it had during Discord's debut, the interior of the library seemed to have had nothing about it change in the ensuing reality warping. The walls and floor were still wood. The scrolls were where they should have been. Even every last book that had been on the shelves were present. The only thing not to be found in the residence was the pony that the whole place belonged to. "Twilight!" Spike called again and again, "Twilight! Twilight! Where the hay are ya!" After about ten minutes of the futile search Spike took a break and got a glass out to put a drink in. It was only a moment of delay before the faucet he turned on exploded. "I should've probably seen that coming," he muttered. Giving up on the beverage, the little dragon once more took to scanning through the various rooms of the tree. But there didn't seem to be anyone other than him and a giraffe Owlowiscious hybrid in the place. "And I doubt you'd give me any indication as to where miss brainiac is with your limited vocabulary," Spike addressed the former owl and junior assistant. "Had I seen the mistress I most certainly would have aided in the search," it replied in a smooth voice. Spike's eye twitched at what should have been a startling response from the creature. But it just became part of the confusing world that had been formed from the group's inability to do away with the chaotic spirit that now haunted the land. Spike would give anything to find out where the purple unicorn had been stolen away to. Not only because she would most likely be the one to figure everything out, but because he was afraid. With her though he'd always felt so much safer. And he was scared. If anything happened to Twilight...he didn't want to think about it. Being without his best friend... Spike's train of thought was soon derailed though. A loud crash behind him made him spin around. The basement door, the only area he had forgotten to check, was now open with a pile of books rustling next to it. "Oh fiddlesticks," a familiar voice grumbled from the pile. With sparkles in his eyes, Spike dove into the books and rolled the pony within out. "Twilight!" he cried, "You're!...you're...little..." Spike rubbed his eyes to make sure that the pony he was staring down at was the right one. It certainly did look like Twilight but it was no bigger than one of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Even as far back as Spike could remember she had at least been a little taller than how big this pony was. "Fascinating..." the young girl wondered looking deep into the dragon's emerald eyes. It felt like they bore straight into Spike's mind, analyzing every last detail of him inside and out. Now he knew the intensity that Twilight had studied Pinkie Pie when she first learned of her "abilities". "A baby Draconis Occidentalis," Twilight recited to herself seeming to have more knowledge of what Spike was than he himself did, "purple in hue with green fins. With how tall it is and how unthreatening it seems the specimen appears to be quite young and still impressionable. Perhaps I should see if its parents are dead and take it in as my own research project." Spike was as confused as he was irritated by the accidental insults that the filly was spouting at his face. "Yo, Twi," Spike waved a hand in front of her face. "It must have mind reading powers," the female figured earning her a roll of Spike's eyes, "It looked into my mind and read who I was. Another note to add to my editing of the books here. Never have I read of a dragon with psychic abilities of any sort. Further analysis must be-" "TWILIGHT!" Spike yelled clamping the pony's mouth shut with his claws. Even in the creature's clutches the pony's eyes were constantly scanning. Eventually though she did seem to come to realize the situation she was in and gave the dragon her attention. After making as mentally sure as he could that she would no longer blabber on and on, Spike released the young filly's mouth and looked down at her intently. "...what happened to you Twilight?" he asked. The pony blinked once or twice and tilted her head. "How do you know my name?" she asked a bit late. Spike's expression sunk a bit. She didn't know who he was...that certainly hadn't been on his agenda. "I know who you are because we live here," Spike told her, "We're best friends...remember?..." Again the pony's face was one of confusion. "Who are you?" she inquired. Spike smacked his forehead. Yep, for whatever reason, Discord had de-aged Twilight. And if memory served correctly, right after Spike had finished his story he had reverted all of the girl's into filly-forms before flinging him into the chaos that was now Equestria. "And if you live here do you know what this place is? It's fascinating the amount of books you've accumulated," Twilight cooed. Spike's cheeks reddened a bit at the now-younger companion's eagerness in her search for knowledge. "Twilight, look, you have to trust me here," Spike sighed and got off the floor, "...I don't really know how to say this but...me and you. We've been together as long as I've been alive. No matter what ever happened to you I was by your side. When everyone else was against you I would be there to help you. And whatever's happened to you now I'm going to fix okay?" Twilight's brows furrowed. "Are you trying to take advantage of me?" the question caused the dragon to take a few steps back in shock, "Cause if you are my parents say that's not something that I should participate in and that I should run away screaming. You used a lot of big words so I'm assuming you're trying to impress me so that you can more easily kidnap me. Now since this is the case I am going to do as my parents say. Have a nice day sir." Before Spike could reply an ear-piece scream shot forth from the unicorn and she rocketed out the front door. It didn't take long for her to come to a stop. Her mind simply could not comprehend what she was looking at in the outside world. "Get in here!" Spike growled pulling Twilight back into the tree. She didn't even try to fight back. Her mind was too riddled with questions, even moreso than the dragon that held her. --- "...so...you are my best friend from the future..." Twilight went over the information in her mind, "And this place is where we live..." "In your future," Spike finished. Mentally he breathed a sigh of relief. He never would have thought it to be so hard to explain something so simple to Twilight no matter what age she was. But now that she had the knowledge of who he was, where they were, and what had happened they could get down to business. "So, you got a plan?" Spike asked eagerly. The pony just stared at him. "A plan for what?" she asked. Now Spike stared. "Um...to get everything back to normal?..." Spike responded. Twilight's eyes jumped at the suggestion. "Me?!" she yelped, "why would I have something thought up to beat some supernatural spirit of chaos?! That's Princess Celestia's kind of stuff!" "Yeah, but you and your friends were put in charge of the Elements of Harmo-" "Wait, I thought you were supposed to be my friend," she interrupted. "...yeah, but you got others like years after we'd been together-" "And what are these Elements of Harmo? Why would she put me in charge of something so important? I'm just a filly!" Twilight's breathing had become rather quick-paced within the last minute or so. Spike could see her face swirling with even more confusion than when he'd first remet her. "Look, Twilight, I just assumed since you're like the leader-" "Leader?" Twilight shuddered, "Of what? Those friends you mentioned? I don't have time for friends! I got books I need to research for reports! My study of magic needs to come first and foremost!" Spike once again smacked his forehead. Yep. She sure was Twilight alright. And seemingly even more difficult than ever. "What about the world?" Spike reminded. "Once I've gathered all the information possible then I can save it with all that I've learned," Twilight guessed, "Then the Princess might even give me a thank-you scroll!" Twilight swooned at the idea. Spike shook his head. He was getting nowhere fast. If he was to save Equestria he needed to get the girls and the Elements of Harmony back together. Surely either that or beating Discord would return them to how they were supposed to be, not to mention save the world as they knew it. And it was up to him. "Alright, since you aren't giving me any other choice," Spike growled and hoisted the young pony over his shoulder. "Hey! What are you doing!" Twilight cried as Spike waltzed out of the tree and into the warped land beyond, "Stop! Mom! Dad! Help! I'm being kidnapped by an evil ugly dragon! Let me go!" Had it not been for how small she was now, Twilight might have actually broken free from her future assistant's grasp. Fortunately for him he'd had more than enough training behind him to subdue her even in her older form. "Come on, we need to find your friends," he urged passing a dancing Cockatrice. "I don't have friends!" Twilight yelled, "In fact, everything you told me could be a lie! I don't know you! You're not my friend! I hate you!" Those words stopped Spike's feet. It was only a few moments that he let them slow him down though. "Let's get this over with," he muttered. --- "What do you mean Applejack's not here?" Spike asked the Granny Smith who looked like she should be on Broadway from her stunts. He tried his best to ignore the enthusiastically scribbling Big Macintosh in the corner of the room. Twilight however was very fascinated in what he was doodling up. "Like I told ya ya young whipasnappah, she done trotted off to Manehattan to live da city life," the elderly pony stopped her shenanigans for a spell to wipe some tears away, "Bless her soul, may Celestia be with her wherevah she done go, ain't that right Big Mac?" "Eeyup!" "But...wouldn't she have to walk? I mean Discord surely wouldn't have let any trains remain in service would he?" Spike wondered aloud. "Oh normally I'd probably just throw em all about the land, but for you my boy there is in fact quite a few left. Besides, how else would people get variety in my new world I've made for them?" the spirit of chaos drew his and Twilight's attention to the fence he was laying on. Big Macintosh and Granny Smith apparently didn't view him as anything out of the ordinary now. "Oh and you've already found Twilight," he chuckled scooping the bewildered filly up, "I knew you had the stuff for this hero gig. Hello kiddo, I'm your best friend, Discord. Spirit of Chaos." Twilight's scream dropped her to the ground when Discord clamped his ears shut. "Alright! Cut the vocals kid! Geez, slap me for being friendly will ya? I mean you accept that dragon, but not I? What gives?" Discord put his hands on his hips once the shriek had ended. Though Twilight was shuddering she bravely glared at the entity putting a smirk on his face. "If you must know this ugly dragon here is not my friend," Twilight stated stamping her hoof to mark her point and cause Spike's expression to flatten a bit, "All he did was kidnap me and possibly lie to me about my future. I hate him. Only stick around cause he'll force me to if I try to run away." Discord's brows raised at the baby dragon who now his arms folded over his chest. "Quite the studmaster I heard you were," Discord chuckled, "Well, have fun you two. Just so you know, if Applejack's not here, Pinkie's probably back on that dull ass farm she used to live on. As me, ciao!" With that the twisted being vanished in a flash of light leaving the unicorn and dragon standing in front of Rarity's boutique. Twilight looked it over curiously. Being inside pretty much her whole life she'd rarely gotten glimpses of the strange structures that normally littered the outside world. "Well guess we better get...Rar...it...wait..." Spike went over things in his head. There was something missing...The Elements! He had no idea where they were! After the screen faded out at the end of Return to Harmony it wasn't shown what was done with the Elements after the episode was over! No matter where the author might make them appear it would drastically ruin the continuity of the show whenever they turned up again! The viewers of the show had no idea if the Princess had once again kept them, left them in the ponies' care, or done something else entirely! Why- "Dude," Spike said, "Chill. You've already shattered the continuity of the show more than Pinkie and Discord combined ever could hope to. I was just saying that stuff cause it felt like the right thing to say. Now make me find them." Giving a nervous laugh the author had Spike reach into where a pants pocket on a human would be and had him pull out the Elements of Harmony. "Now was that so hard?" Spike asked. No. Not really. Thanks I-hey-yow! I'm in charge remember? "Discord smirked kicking the author down a flight of steps," Now what did I miss?..hm...of you got the Elements. So scary. Well, good luck with Rarity, if you know what I mean. Wink Wink Nudge Nudge. "Spike's eye twitched in annoyance at the narrator." Will you fix this fucked up quoting style already! "Fine!" Discord scoffed and decided to leave the fourth wall alone. With the distraction out of the way and Twilight thoroughly confused from the whole ordeal, Spike lead the way into the Carousel Boutique. Only to be thrown out seconds later by the white filly that would one day be the "most beautiful thing in Canterlot". She took even less to uninvited kidnappers than Twilight had. "Well that was great," the purple unicorn muttered, "Who else are my "good friends"?" Spike rubbed his chin. So far he'd failed to collect anyone other than Twilight, and both Pinkie Pie and Applejack were out of the picture leaving only two others. "Well...Fluttershy's always the most reasonable..." he figured. --- "I'm sorry Mr. Cute Dragon, but I really don't know what you're talking about," the shy pegasus said as politely as possible, "Now please close the door, you're letting the deranged flamingos in." Spike just groaned and pushed Twilight inside. At least with Fluttershy he could force things to happen rather than just be pushed around like how Rarity had tossed them out without even a word. All Fluttershy would do was let out an "eep!" at the intrusion. Spike didn't forget to shut the door though. "Alright, so before today what do you remember?" Spike asked. Fluttershy shivered behind the couch she had flipped over in hopes that the intruders wouldn't find her. "Fluttershy?" Spike asked. Throwing caution to the wind the yellow pony stuck her head out from the blockage. "Um...how do you uh...know my name Mr. Cute Dragon Man?" she said almost too quietly. Twilight meanwhile had taken note of the various creatures that inhabited the shy one's dwelling. They certainly were rather interesting, even if some had been malformed beyond belief from the reality warping. "Look, you were a much more mature pony when we last met," Spike sighed. "Oh I like to think of myself as just more...reserved as I get older," Fluttershy proposed. "No I mean you were older!" Spike groaned, "You were friends with this pony here and she was older too. The guy that did this crap to the world made you all little fillies again! We need your help in finding the other four." "He made us younger?" Fluttershy checked to make sure if that's what Spike was saying, "Then...that would explain why I woke up in this strange place. I'd never seen this cottage before...no wonder I liked it so much. Everything was just the way I liked it...but...you're saying I have to go out there?...into the...outside world?...where the clouds are pink and sticky?..." Fluttershy gulped. She'd never been more terrified to step foot out the door in her entire life. It simply didn't compute with her cautious nature. "If you don't help us Equestria's only going to get worse and worse!" Spike pleaded. Fluttershy bit her lower lip as her eyebrows bent upwards in hesitation. She certainly didn't want anything to get any worse than it was now...but it was just so scary outside...even the skies were no longer safe from what she saw. Just then there was a loud crash. Fluttershy leapt clear over the overturned couch only to spot countless animals fleeing from the chasing Twilight. "Twilight! What the hell are you doing!" Spike exclaimed once a bat had nearly taken his head off. "They won't stay still for me to study!" the filly yelled angrily. "Oh no, please, everyone get back into your cages and homes. It's not safe to be out in the open now, no. Wait. Stop! Don't go!" Fluttershy simply didn't have the effort to keep the front door shut from all the ruckus that Twilight was making. Before she knew it it'd practically blasted off its hinges and the critters scurried out into the world of chaos. Fluttershy gasped. The very second the hummingbirds touch the air out there they'd been transformed into a pile of feathers strung together by cords and wires, now cyborg versions of what they had been. The squirrels inflated and started to float into the sky. The skunks' colors inverted and began digging through trees. It was chaos. "Oh no...oh no...oh no..." tears streamed down Fluttershy's face. All of her animal friends had been completely and utterly raped of any sense. "This is why we have to work together," Spike told her. She felt his hand stroke her back comfortingly and spotted a glistening object out of the corner of her eye. A necklace of some sort with a glowing piece at the base of it. "This is your Element of Harmony," he told her handing it over, "Kindness. They were used by you six to seal Discord away once. It needs to be done again. You're the only ones that can do this..." Fluttershy didn't know how to respond. On one hand she could stay and hide. Nothing seemed to have happened to her in the time that she'd been cowering in fear. On the other hand though she could be helping to save all the creatures of Equestria from this madness. But the sheer terror that now came from the outside world...it was so great. Fluttershy took a few deep breaths and closed her eyes. Her decision made she slung the item around her neck and it began to glow. Twilight and Spike looked in awe and amaze as the light died down. Standing where the filly had been was now the older Fluttershy that Spike had known ever since arriving in Ponyville. "Let's go get that dumb meanie." --- "Um...are you sure this is safe?..." Fluttershy gulped, "I mean what if Discord-" "He told us that he left the trains alone, right Twilight?" Spike told her, "...Twilight?..." "Why won't mine work!" the filly fussed over the necklace she was pulling at, "I wanna know how these things work! Where's the manual? We need to get to a lab and pick this thing apart. Science always provides some sort of answer!" Spike hung his head. It was going to be a long trip to Manehattan even if the trains were still like they should be. "All aboard!" the conductor yelled, "Refugees making their way to Manehattan need to get on now or take up the odds here!" "Oh um, coming sir!" Fluttershy said in a hushed yell and helped Spike pull Twilight onto the train. "Get your hands off me you lizard!" Twilight snapped kicking the dragon away, "Same goes for you pinkie, if that is your natural mane!" Fluttershy gasped and backed away a bit, her cheeks completely red at the suggestion. "Twilight, what the hay's gotten into you?" Spike interrogated, "I mean yeah, I'm used to some abuse, but you've just been completely mean to me all day long. And now Fluttershy! Why wou-" "You kidnapped me!" she barked taking a step forward causing Spike to take one back, "You, some strange ugly lizard, dragged me along on this stupid quest to get rid of this apparently immortal being of mass chaos and didn't just leave me with my books!" "Life isn't about books!" Spike yelled back at her, "I mean Celestia! Come on! I know you like researching, but what about friends?" "I told you! I don't have friends!" Twilight spat, her voice raising, "I don't have time for that kind of horseapples!" "What about me though?" Spike felt his throat tightening, "I've been with you since-" "I don't know you!" Twilight insisted, "Maybe my older self, if that isn't a lie, does, but I sure as hay don't! You're just some freak that's dragging me around everywhere and I'm sick of it! We are not friends! How many times do I have to tell you I hate you before you leave me the hay alone!" Fluttershy knew she shouldn't have been the one with tears in her eyes, but she couldn't help but join the others in the action. The dragon though was the one feeling the most from the whole ordeal. "...fine," his eyes narrowed and he took the train pamphlet that Twilight had found at the station, "You see this? The only "book" you have now?" Twilight's pupils shrunk as the first tear was made through it. Within a matter of seconds Spike had shredded it and thrown the cloud of particles into the air laughing a bit as he did so. "There! That's your precious books!" he scoffed, "meaningless if we don't return the world to normal! They're only relevant in a world that follows the history and laws of physics that they belong in!" Twilight's eyes hung on the cloud that drifted down. They didn't fall to the floor with the paper however. Instead when they met with Spike's figure they remained on him. He gulped. There was nothing in her eyes. "I HATE YOU!" she screamed before charging straight through him and out of sight into the train car beyond. Spike didn't even moan from the impact afterwards. The pain hadn't been external. He looked to Fluttershy for support. "I'll see what I can do to calm her down..." she sighed, "Might not wanna talk to her for a bit though." Spike closed his eyes. He hadn't felt such regret before. --- Twilight Sparkle awoke to the sound of water hitting the roof above her. She yawned and looked around. She was still in the car that she'd chased the yellow pony out of earlier. She knew she'd been trying to help but she didn't need it. She wasn't her mom, and if someone wasn't your parent they shouldn't be trying to comfort you. She just wanted to be away from them. From that pony that got her necklace to work, from that messed up village, and especially from that stupid dragon. It'd have been just fine if he'd simply left her in the tree. That sanctuary of knowledge. The information that could be accumulated into the ultimate vault. Her mind. "meaningless if we don't return the world to normal!" Twilight wrapped the pillow as tight as she could in an attempt to block out the phrase that echoed through the depths of her mentality. It wasn't true...books always meant something...always did...didn't they?...even the most simple of them. Proof of the life and culture and history of that which made them. That someone had been there. That there'd been something to write, no matter how absurd...if nothing else the mark that the author had existed...unless they were erased...unless the facts that were written about became nonexistent in the chaos of life...the life that'd been forced on them now... No! That dumb dragon wasn't right! He didn't even know how to spell Manehattan! He was as stupid as they came! He didn't know anything! He was just some ugly monster that'd taken her sanctuary, her world, away from her! She had no choice! He wouldn't let her go!...for anything... "YAH!" Twilight cried from the lightning bolt that struck outside. For an instant the room flashed casting shadows. The one she could make out she knew. The silhouette of that demon. That mangled mess of body parts. What the dragon had called Discord. Panicked, Twilight tore out of the room and through the train cars. Her feet had a mind of their own. She knew where she was going, but she couldn't control it. Her body knew the reason why he wouldn't let her go. The dragon wouldn't let anything harm her, ruin her. Not as long as he drew breath. He'd always be there for her. And she should be for him. "Spike!" her voice spoke for the first time since meeting the purple reptile. The young dragon was surprised to say the least when the filly dove into his arms and wrapped hers around him tightly. "There was lightning and these shadows and that Dis-Discord! I saw-he-he was one of the shadows and-and-" "Twilight," Spike said grabbing her face. She fell silent. Tears leaked out of her eyes slowly. His smile comforted her a bit. "I'm here, don't worry," he told her wrapping his arms around her now and nuzzling his face into her neck. Twilight hung there in his grasp. "Spike, I didn't mean that stuff I said, I don't hate-" "I know," he told her. Grief and regret flowed out of her system from the embrace. "I love you," she said quietly drifting back into sleep.